JPH01119890A - Portable electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To use the title device as long as all bits are not defective even when the cell of a memory is defective by writing a specific identification information when the device is unoperable, and writing the information other than the specific information when it is operable. CONSTITUTION:In an IC card, a nonvolatile memory 12, a program memory 13 and a control element 11 are incorporated. An identification information area 21 exists in the nonvolatile memory 12, and the identification information to identify whether the IC card is operable or unoperable is written. To make the IC card operable, the information other than a hexadecimal number 'FF' is made writable and operable into an identification area 21. In the identification information in the unoperable card, the 'FF' is written, and the condition of unoperability is responded to a card issuing device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an erasable non-volatile memory and a C
The present invention relates to a portable electronic device called an IC card, which has a built-in IC (integrated circuit) chip having a control element such as a PU.

(Prior Art) Recently, as a new portable data storage medium, EEF
2. Description of the Related Art IC cards have been developed that include a built-in IC chip that has an erasable nonvolatile memory such as a ROM and a control element such as a CPU. This type of IC card accesses a built-in memory using a built-in control element, and inputs and outputs necessary data in response to a request from an external device.

The memory of such an IC card is defined as being divided into a plurality of areas depending on the nature of the stored data or the intended use, and each area is used as an access unit.

In this way, the memory is divided and defined into a plurality of areas, and the memory areas are usually defined by the card issuer when the IC card is issued. That is, by dividing the memory into an area definition information area (directory area) and a user area (user area), and writing area definition information in the area definition information area, the user area is is defined and managed.

When the user area is defined by writing the area definition information in this way, the IC installed in the memory
The identification information used to identify whether a card is inoperable (unissued) or operational (issued) is rewritten from specific information indicating inoperability (for example, 8-bit 1-byte data) to specific information indicating operable. By doing so, the IC card is made operational and the issuance is completed.

However, the conventional identification information for identifying whether the system is inoperable or operational is specific information that is fixed both when the system is not operational and when it is operational, as described above. Therefore, if it is not possible to rewrite the identification information to specific information indicating that the IC card is operational due to a defective memory cell etc. at the time of issuance (when making it operational), the IC card becomes a defective card. . Additionally, if the identification information changes from an operational state to an unoperable state due to a memory cell defect after issuance (after the IC card has been made operational), the IC card will become a defective card. Oops.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the present invention, as described above, the identification information for identifying whether it is inoperable or operable is specific information both when it is inoperable and when it is operable. If the identification information cannot be written due to a defective memory cell when making the device operational, or if the identification information changes due to a defective memory cell after making the device operational, the device will This was done to solve the problem of devices becoming defective, and significantly reduces the probability that defective devices will occur due to memory cell defects, etc., during or after making them operational. The purpose is to provide a portable electronic device that can.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention includes an erasable non-volatile memory and a control section for reading and writing data to the non-volatile memory. A portable electronic device that performs input/output from the outside and is provided with means for identifying whether the device is operable or not based on identification information in the nonvolatile memory, the identification information comprising: It is characterized in that when the device cannot be operated, it is used as specific information, and when it is operational, it is used as information other than the specific information.

(Effect) Identification information to identify whether it is inoperable or operational.
By using specific information such as hexadecimal "FF" when the device is inoperable, and using information other than the specific information when it is operational, memory cells can be used to make the portable electronic device operational. Even if there is a defect, as long as all bits are not defective, as long as at least one bit can be written, the identification information can be changed to information other than specific information and the device can be put into an operable state. Further, even if the identification information changes due to a memory cell defect or the like after the operational state is enabled, the operational state is unlikely to change from the operational state to the inoperable state. Therefore, the probability that a defective device will occur due to a defective memory cell or the like can be significantly reduced when or after the device is enabled for operation.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of an IC card as a portable electronic device according to the present invention, in which a control element (
For example, CPU) 11, erasable non-volatile memory 12
, a program memory 13, and a contact section 14 for electrically communicating with an external device (not shown).
, memory 12, and program memory 13) are composed of one (or a plurality of) IC chips and are embedded within the IC card body. The program memory 13 is composed of, for example, a mask ROM, and stores a control program for the control element 11 and the like. The memory 12 is used to store various data, and is composed of, for example, an EEPROM.

The memory 12 includes, for example, a 1-byte identification information area 21, an area definition information area (directory area) 22, and a user area (user area) 23, as shown in FIG. 4, for example. Identification information area 2] is written with identification information for identifying whether the IC card is inoperable (unissued) or operable (issued). The identification information consists of, for example, 1 byte of 8 bits, and when this IC card cannot be operated, it is specified as specific information, such as "FF" in hexadecimal, and when this IC card is operational, it is specified as other than "FF". information. The area definition information area 22 is an area for defining and managing the user area 23 by dividing it into a plurality of areas, and stores area definition information as described later. The user area 23 stores various data, and is divided into a plurality of areas as described later.

In such a configuration, the area definition information is written in the area definition information area 22 in a system that is easy for the writing side to handle, and the contents do not include the start address (start position information) of the area to be defined. This area definition information is located in the same part as the actual area definition information used when the card is operational. The area definition information when the card is operational is larger than the write area definition information because information that does not exist in the write area definition information is generated and added using the write area definition information. Since the write area definition information is entered in the part where the area definition information when the large card is usable, a part without data appears (for example, the shaded part in Figure 5), but the area definition information for that part appears. It will remain as it is until the time of formation.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which two pieces of area definition information have been written.

This writing can be done, for example, by setting the IC card in the card issuing device, inputting area definition information (characteristic information of the area such as access conditions, and size information of the area) from the keyboard, etc., and writing it to the control element 11 of the IC card. This is carried out by the control element [1] that has transmitted and received this writing in the area definition information area 22 of the memory [2].

The area definition information written in this way has size information (x X, y y) indicating the size that can be purely used by the user, and does not have the start address of the area.

At this point, in order to make this IC card operational, the identification information area 21 of the memory] 2 indicates “operable”.
Write information other than "FF". Writing this identification information is as follows:
This is performed when the control element 1 receives an issuing command sent from the card issuing device. That is, the first
As shown in the figure, when the issuing command is input from the card issuing device after writing the area definition information as shown in FIG. or “FF”. As a result of this check, if the information is other than "FF", the control element 11 outputs response data indicating that the card has been issued (ready for operation) to the card issuing device.

If the result of the above check is "FF", the control element 11
writes information other than "FF" in the identification information area 21,
Make this IC card operational.

Further, upon receiving the issue command, the control element ]-1:
The area definition information written in the area definition information area 22 is changed to a system that is easy to control as shown in FIG. Based on the size information xX', yy'), each area is arranged in the user area 23 based on the size information. When the area placement is completed normally, the control element 11 calculates the start address (aaaa, bbbb) of the area to be defined based on the size information, and uses this calculated start address as the area definition in the area definition information area 22. By adding it to the information, it is organized into two real definition information of the system used when the card is operational. Then, the control element 11 rewrites (overwrites) the organized actual area definition information when the card is operational in the same location as the area definition information writing portion at the time of writing. The above completes the area definition, that is, the issuance of the IC card.

FIG. 2 shows the operation sequence of the issue check command for checking whether it has been issued or not.

That is, when an issue check command is input from a card issuing device, for example, the control element 11 checks whether the identification information in the identification information area 21 is "FF". As a result of this check, if the information is other than "FF", the control element 11 outputs response data indicating that the card has been issued (ready for operation) to the card issuing device; , control element] 1 outputs response data indicating that the card has not been issued (inoperable state) to the card issuing device.

In this way, the identification information for identifying whether the IC card is inoperable or operational is specific information such as "FF" in hexadecimal when the IC card is inoperable, and when it is operational. By making it information other than the specific information,
Even if there is a cell defect in the memory 12 when making the IC card operational, as long as all bits are not defective, if at least one bit can be written, the identification information will be changed to information other than specific information and the IC card will be returned to operational status. It can be done. Further, even if the identification information changes due to a cell defect in the memory 12 after the operational state is enabled, the operational state (issued state) is unlikely to change from the operational state (unissued state) to the non-operational state (unissued state). Therefore, the probability of a defective card occurring due to a cell defect in the memory 12, etc., can be significantly reduced during or after the operational state.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, it is possible to significantly reduce the probability of a defective device occurring due to a defective memory cell or the like during or after making it operational. It is possible to provide a portable electronic device that can

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures are for explaining one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an issued command operation sequence, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an issued check command operation sequence, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an I/O command operation sequence.
Figure 4 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the C card, Figure 4 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the non-volatile memory, Figure 5 is the content of area definition information written from outside and area definition information in memory. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the existence position and the relationship between the contents of the organized area definition information and the areas defined in the memory when the card is operational. 11... Control element (control unit), 12...
・Non-volatile memory, ]3...Program memory, 21...Identification information area, 22...
Area definition information area, 23...User area. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue-13= To n

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) It has an erasable non-volatile memory and a control unit for reading and writing data to this non-volatile memory, selectively inputting and outputting data from the outside, and A portable electronic device comprising a means for identifying whether the device is operable or inoperable based on identification information; the identification information is specified information when the device is inoperable, and is used as identification information when the device is operable. A portable electronic device characterized in that the information is other than the specific information. (2) The specific information is 16
The portable electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is a base number "FF".